Systems and methods for processing objects provided in vehicles

ABSTRACT

An object processing system is disclosed for unloading objects from a trailer of a tractor trailer. The object processing system includes an engagement system including a truck entry portion for entering the trailer and for indiscriminately engaging unidentified objects within the trailer, and a conveyance system for conveying objects engaged by the engagement system toward an unloading portion of the trailer.

PRIORITY

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/432,021 filed Dec. 9, 2016, the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The invention generally relates to automated, robotic and other objectprocessing systems such as sortation systems, and relates in particularto automated and robotic systems intended for use in environmentsrequiring, for example, that a variety of objects (e.g., parcels,packages, and articles etc.) be processed and distributed to severaloutput destinations.

Many parcel distribution systems receive parcels from a vehicle, such asa trailer of a tractor trailer. The parcels are unloaded and deliveredto a processing station in a disorganized stream that may be provided asindividual parcels or parcels aggregated in groups such as in bags, andmay be provided to any of several different conveyances, such as aconveyor, a pallet, a Gaylord, or a bin. Each parcel must then bedistributed to the correct destination container, as determined byidentification information associated with the parcel, which is commonlydetermined by a label printed on the parcel or on a sticker applied tothe parcel. The destination container may take many forms, such as a bagor a bin.

The sortation of such parcels from the vehicle has traditionally beendone, at least in part, by human workers that unload the vehicle, thenscan the parcels, e.g., with a hand-held barcode scanner, and then placethe parcels at assigned locations. For example many order fulfillmentoperations achieve high efficiency by employing a process called wavepicking. In wave picking, orders are picked from warehouse shelves andplaced at locations (e.g., into bins) containing multiple orders thatare sorted downstream. At the sorting stage individual articles areidentified, and multi-article orders are consolidated, for example intoa single bin or shelf location, so that they may be packed and thenshipped to customers. The process of sorting these objects hastraditionally been done by hand. A human sorter picks an object from anincoming bin, finds a barcode on the object, scans the barcode with ahandheld barcode scanner, determines from the scanned barcode theappropriate bin or shelf location for the object, and then places theobject in the so-determined bin or shelf location where all objects forthat order have been defined to belong. Automated systems for orderfulfillment have also been proposed. See for example, U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2014/0244026, which discloses the use of arobotic arm together with an arcuate structure that is movable to withinreach of the robotic arm.

Other ways of identifying items by code scanning either require manualprocessing, or require that the code location be controlled orconstrained so that a fixed or robot-held code scanner (e.g., barcodescanner) can reliably detect it. Manually operated barcode scanners aregenerally either fixed or handheld systems. With fixed systems, such asthose used at point-of-sale systems, the operator holds the object andplaces it in front of the scanner so that the barcode faces the scanningdevice's sensors, and the scanner, which scans continuously, decodes anybarcodes that it can detect. If the object is not immediately detected,the person holding the object typically needs to vary the position orrotation of the object in front of the fixed scanner, so as to make thebarcode more visible to the scanner. For handheld systems, the personoperating the scanner looks for the barcode on the object, and thenholds the scanner so that the object's barcode is visible to thescanner, and then presses a button on the handheld scanner to initiate ascan of the barcode.

Additionally, current distribution center sorting systems generallyassume an inflexible sequence of operations whereby a disorganizedstream of input objects is first singulated by human workers into asingle stream of isolated objects presented one at a time to a humanworker with a scanner that identifies the object. The objects are thenloaded onto a conveyor, and the conveyor then transports the objects tothe desired destination, which may be a bin, a chute, a bag or adestination conveyor.

In conventional parcel sortation systems, human workers typicallyretrieve parcels in an arrival order, and sort each parcel or objectinto a collection bin based on a set of given heuristics. For instance,all objects of like type might be routed to a collection bin, or allobjects in a single customer order might be routed to a particularcollection bin, or all objects destined for the same shippingdestination, etc. may be routed to a certain collection bin. The humanworkers or automated systems are required to receive objects and to moveeach to their assigned collection bin. If the number of different typesof input (received) objects is large, a large number of collection binsis required.

Such a system has inherent inefficiencies as well as inflexibilitiessince the desired goal is to match incoming objects to assignedcollection bins. Such systems may require a large number of collectionbins (and therefore a large amount of physical space, large capitalcosts, and large operating costs) in part, because sorting all objectsto all destinations at once is not always most efficient.

Current state-of-the-art sortation systems rely on human labor to someextent. Most solutions rely on a worker that is performing sortation, byscanning an object from an induction area (chute, table, etc.) andplacing the object in a staging location, conveyor, or collection bin.When a bin is full, another worker empties the bin into a bag, box, orother container, and sends that container on to the next processingstep. Such a system has limits on throughput (i.e., how fast can humanworkers sort to or empty bins in this fashion) and on number of diverts(i.e., for a given bin size, only so many bins may be arranged to bewithin efficient reach of human workers).

Other partially automated sortation systems involve the use ofrecirculating conveyors and tilt trays, where the tilt trays receiveobjects by human sortation, and each tilt tray moves past a scanner.Each object is then scanned and moved to a pre-defined location assignedto the object. The tray then tilts to drop the object into the location.Other systems that include tile trays may involve scanning an object(e.g., using a tunnel scanner), dropping the object into a tilt tray,associating the object with the specific tilt tray using a knownlocation or position, for example, using beam breaks, and then causingthe tilt tray to drop the object when it is at the desired destination.

Further, partially automated systems, such as the bomb-bay stylerecirculating conveyor, involve having trays open doors on the bottom ofeach tray at the time that the tray is positioned over a predefinedchute, and the object is then dropped from the tray into the chute.Again, the objects are scanned while in the tray, which assumes that anyidentifying code is visible to the scanner.

Such partially automated systems are lacking in key areas. As noted,these conveyors have discrete trays that can be loaded with an object;the trays then pass through scan tunnels that scan the object andassociate it with the tray in which it is riding. When the tray passesthe correct bin, a trigger mechanism causes the tray to dump the objectinto the bin. A drawback with such systems however, is that every divertrequires an actuator, which increases the mechanical complexity and thecost per divert can be very high.

An alternative is to use human labor to increase the number of diverts,or collection bins, available in the system. This decreases systeminstallation costs, but increases the operating costs. Multiple cellsmay then work in parallel, effectively multiplying throughput linearlywhile keeping the number of expensive automated diverts at a minimum.Such diverts do not ID an object and cannot divert it to a particularspot, but rather they work with beam breaks or other sensors to seek toensure that indiscriminate bunches of objects get appropriatelydiverted. The lower cost of such diverts coupled with the low number ofdiverts keep the overall system divert cost low.

Unfortunately, these systems don't address the limitations to totalnumber of system bins. The system is simply diverting an equal share ofthe total objects to each parallel manual cell. Thus each parallelsortation cell must have all the same collection bins designations;otherwise an object might be delivered to a cell that does not have abin to which that object is mapped. There remains a need for a moreefficient and more cost effective object sortation system that sortsobjects of a variety of sizes and weights into appropriate collectionbins or trays of fixed sizes, yet is efficient in handling objects ofsuch varying sizes and weights.

Further, such systems do not adequately account for the overall processin which objects are first delivered to and provided at a processingstation by a vehicle such as a trailer of a tractor trailer.Additionally, many processing stations, such as sorting stations forsorting parcels, are at times, at or near full capacity in terms ofavailable floor space and sortation resources.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an embodiment, the invention provides an objectprocessing system for unloading objects from a trailer of a tractortrailer. The object processing system includes an engagement systemincluding a truck entry portion for entering the trailer and forindiscriminately engaging unidentified objects within the trailer, and aconveyance system for conveying objects engaged by the engagement systemtoward an unloading portion of the trailer.

In accordance with another embodiment, the invention provides anautomated method of unloading objects from a trailer of a tractortrailer. The method includes the steps of indiscriminately engagingunidentified objects within the trailer, conveying engaged objectstoward an unloading portion of the trailer, and transporting the objectstoward a distribution location

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description may be further understood with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a trailer of a trackertrailer (with a side wall removed) including objects to be processed;

FIG. 2 shows an illustrative diagrammatic side view of system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative diagrammatic top view of the system of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative diagrammatic side view of a system inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention involving aretractable conveyance;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative diagrammatic top view of the system of FIG.4;

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative diagrammatic side view of the system ofFIG. 4 with the retractable conveyance partially extended, and with aside wall of the trailer removed;

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative diagrammatic side view of a system inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention including aretractable moving conveyor;

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative diagrammatic top view of the system of FIG.7;

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative diagrammatic side view of the system ofFIG. 4 with the retractable moving conveyor partially extended, and witha side wall of the trailer removed;

FIG. 10 shows an illustrative diagrammatic side view of a system inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention includingguide rails and a wheeled bin;

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative diagrammatic top view of the system ofFIG. 10;

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative diagrammatic side view of a system inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention includingguide rails and a retractable conveyance;

FIG. 13 shows an illustrative diagrammatic top view of the system ofFIG. 12;

FIG. 14 shows an illustrative diagrammatic side view of an objectcollection portion of a system in accordance with embodiment of thepresent invention engaging object within a trailer with a side wall ofthe trailer removed;

FIG. 15 shows an illustrative diagrammatic top view of the objectcollection portion of the system of FIG. 14 with the top of the trailerremoved;

FIG. 16 shows an illustrative diagrammatic side view of a system inaccordance with a further embodiment of the present invention thatincludes conveyance to an object processing system;

FIG. 17 shows an illustrative diagrammatic top view of the system ofFIG. 16;

FIG. 18 shows an illustrative diagrammatic side view of an objectprocessing system in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, with a side wall of a processing trailer removed;

FIG. 19 shows an illustrative diagrammatic top view of the system ofFIG. 18 with the top of the trailer removed;

FIG. 20 shows an illustrative diagrammatic side view of an objectprocessing system in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention, with the side wall of the trailer removed;

FIG. 21 shows an illustrative diagrammatic top view of the system ofFIG. 20 with the top of the trailer removed;

FIG. 22 shows an illustrative diagrammatic front view of the dropscanner system of FIGS. 18-21;

FIG. 23 shows an illustrative diagrammatic rear view of the drop scannersystem of FIG. 22;

FIGS. 24A and 24B show illustrative diagrammatic views of a shuttlesystem of the system of FIGS. 18-21, wherein a carriage move betweenbins (FIG. 24A), and drops an object into a bin (FIG. 24B);

FIGS. 25A and 25B show illustrative diagrammatic side views of a dropcarrier of the systems of FIGS. 1-4, wherein the drop carrier moves anobject (FIG. 25A) and drops an object onto an output conveyor (FIG.25B);

FIGS. 26A-26D show illustrative diagrammatic side views of a bagging andlabelling system of the systems of FIGS. 18-21;

FIG. 27 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a flowchart showingselected processing steps in a system in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention; and

FIG. 28 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a flowchart showingbin assignment and management steps in a system in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

The drawings are shown for illustrative purposes only.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with an embodiment the invention provides an objectprocessing system for unloading objects from a trailer of a tractortrailer. The object processing system include an engagement systemincluding a truck entry portion for entering the trailer and forindiscriminately engaging objects within the trailer, and a conveyancesystem for conveying objects engaged by the engagement system toward anunloading portion of the trailer. The truck entry portion does notdiscriminate between objects, and select objects using complex imageprocessing analyses, but rather indiscriminately seeks to gather allobjects in its path.

In accordance with a further embodiment, the invention provides a trucktrailer unloading system and a processing system within a trailer ofanother tracker trailer, such that objects may be provided to theprocessing system, and processed within the other trailer. For example,the second trailer may include an input system for receiving a widevariety of objects to be sorted, a singulation system for providing asingulated stream of objects for efficient processing of the objects, anidentification system, and routing system for delivering the objects todesired destinations. Generally, individual parcels need to beidentified and conveyed to desired parcel-specific locations. Thedescribed systems reliably automate the identification and conveyance ofsuch parcels, employing in certain embodiments, a set of conveyors andsensors and a scanning system. In short, applicants have discovered thatwhen automating the sortation of objects, there are a few main things toconsider: 1) the overall system throughput (parcels sorted per hour), 2)the number of diverts (i.e., number of discrete locations to which anobject can be routed), 3) the total area of the sortation system (squarefeet), 4) sort accuracy, and 5) the capital and annual costs to run thesystem (e.g., man-hours, electrical costs, cost of disposablecomponents).

Sorting objects in a shipping distribution center is one application forautomatically identifying and sorting parcels. In a shippingdistribution center, parcels commonly arrive in truck trailers, areconveyed to sortation stations where they are sorted according todesired destinations, aggregated in bags, and then loaded back in trucktrailers for transport to the desired destinations. Other applicationsmay include the shipping department of a retail store or orderfulfillment center, which may require that parcels be sorted fortransport to different shippers, or to different distribution centers ofa particular shipper. In a shipping or distribution center, the parcelsmay take form of plastic bags, boxes, tubes, envelopes, or any othersuitable container, and in some cases may also include objects not in acontainer. In a shipping or distribution center the desired destinationis commonly obtained by reading identifying information printed on theparcel or on an attached label. In this scenario the destinationcorresponding to identifying information is commonly obtained byquerying the customer's information system. In other scenarios thedestination may be written directly on the parcel, or may be knownthrough other means.

FIG. 1 shows a trailer of a tracker trailer (with a side removed),wherein a trailer 10 of a tractor trailer may contain a wide variety ofobjects 12, which may become jostled and shaken while being transportedin the trailer 10. Typically, the objects 12 are removed from thetrailer by hand by human personnel that walk into the trailer and handcarry the objects out from the trailer or place the objects into a binor carrier by which the objects may be moved to a sortation or otherprocessing station.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show an unloading system 20 in accordance with anembodiment of the invention that includes a conveyor 22 that issupported by an unloading structure 24 having wheels 26 such that theconveyor 22 may be directed to enter a trailer 28 off of a loading dock30. FIG. 2 shows a side view, and FIG. 3 shows a top view. The conveyor22 may be a cleated conveyor, and as the conveyor moves in the directiongenerally indicated at A, objects within the trailer (e.g., parcels,packages articles etc.) may be drawn up onto the conveyor 22 and carriedto the top of the conveyor 22, whereupon they fall into a wheeled bin32. The bin 32 may be detachable from the structure 24 by a coupling 34,and additional bins (e.g., 36) may be coupled to the structure when thebin 32 is full. The unloading structure also includes one or moreperception devices 38, 40 that may be any of a wide variety of camerasor scanners, as well as a processing system 42 that is in communicationwith the perception devices and a drive system 44 for moving thestructure back and forth within the trailer 28.

FIGS. 4-6 show another embodiment of the present invention that includesan unloading system 50 that includes a conveyor 52 that is supported byan unloading structure 54 having wheels 56 such that the conveyor 52 maybe directed to enter the trailer 28 off of the loading dock 30. FIG. 4shows a side view, FIG. 5 shows a top view, and FIG. 6 shows a side viewwith the unloading structure within the trailer 28 with a trailer wallremoved. The conveyor 52 may be a cleated conveyor, and as the conveyormoves in the direction generally indicated at B, objects within thetrailer (e.g., parcels, packages articles etc.) may be drawn up onto theconveyor 52 and carried to the top of the conveyor 52, whereupon theyfall into an extendable chute (or extendable conveyor) 62 that leads toa bin 64. As shown in FIG. 6 (with a side wall of the trailer removed),the extendable chute 62 extends as the unloading structure is moved intothe trailer 28, and in this embodiment, the bin 64 remains stationaryuntil filled and then replaced. The unloading structure 54 also includesone or more perception devices 68, 70 that may be any of a wide varietyof cameras or scanners, as well as a processing system 72 that is incommunication with the perception devices and a drive system 74 formoving the structure back and forth within the trailer 28. As noted, infurther embodiments, the extendable chute 62 may be an extendableconveyor.

Systems of the embodiments of FIGS. 2-6 may include a wide conveyor (asshown) for engaging the objects within the trailer, and the width may beclose to but less than the interior width of the trailer. In accordancewith further embodiments, the system may include a conveyor that is wideat the portion of the conveyor that engages objects in the trailer, butthat has an effective smaller width (e.g., has narrowing rails) near thetop of the conveyor.

FIG. 7 shows a side view of a system in accordance with anotherembodiment of the invention that is similar to the system of FIG. 4-6,wherein a collapsible conveyor 63 is provided over the extendable chute62. In particular, the conveyor 63 includes an extendable/collapsibleportion 65 that permits the conveyor to extend (as shown in FIG. 9).FIG. 8 shows a top view of the system of FIG. 7.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show an unloading system 21 similar to the unloadingsystem 20 of FIGS. 2 and 3, wherein like reference numerals are used toshow the same elements as in the system of FIGS. 2 and 3. The system 21however, includes guides 23 along the conveyor 22 that urge objectstoward the center of the conveyor 22 as the conveyor moves toward thetop of the conveyor path. The system 21 also may include smallercollection bins 33. Similarly, FIGS. 12 and 13 show an unloading system51 similar to the unloading system 50 of FIGS. 4 and 5, wherein likereference numerals are used to show the same elements as in the systemof FIGS. 4 and 5. The system 51 however, includes guides 53 along theconveyor 52 (and guides 55 along the extendable chute 62) that urgeobjects toward the center of the conveyor 52 as the conveyor movestoward the top of the conveyor path. The system 51 also may includesmaller collection bins 53.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show side and top views of an unloading system inside atrailer, wherein the object conveyance system may, for example, be thatof any of the above embodiments. Objects 55 within the trailer 28 areindiscriminately engaged by the unloading system, and engaged objects 57are conveyed by the cleated conveyor 52 to any of the above disclosedconveyance systems. The system may also include front guides 51 thaturge any objects near the side walls of the trailer toward the center.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show an unloading system in accordance with a furtherembodiment of the invention, except that the extendable chute (orconveyor) 62 leads to a redirecting chute 80. The redirecting chute 80provides that objects become collected near a sortation in-feed conveyor82, which provides the objects to a sortation system that is withinanother trailer 84 that is adjacent the trailer 28. In accordance withvarious embodiments, therefore, the invention provides a method oftaking individual parcels from a disorganized stream of parcels within atrailer, providing them to a sortation station (in another trailer),providing a singulated stream of objects, identifying individualparcels, and sorting them to desired destinations, all within a confinedlocation (e.g., within a trailer of a tracker trailer). The inventionfurther provides methods for conveying parcels from one point to thenext, for excluding inappropriate or unidentifiable parcels, forgrasping parcels, for determining grasp locations, for determining robotmotion trajectories, for transferring parcels from one conveyor toanother, for aggregating parcels and transferring to output conveyors,for digital communication within the system and with outside informationsystems, for communication with human operators and maintenance staff,and for maintaining a safe environment.

Important components of an automated object identification andprocessing system, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, are shown in FIGS. 18 and 19. FIG. 18 shows a side view ofthe system 110 within the trailer 84 (with a wall of the trailer removedfor clarity), and FIG. 19 shows a top view of the system 110 (with thetop of the trailer removed for clarity). The system 110 includes aninfeed hopper 114 into which objects may be dumped, e.g., by a dumper orGaylord. An infeed cleated conveyor 116 conveys objects from the infeedhopper 114 to a primary conveyor 120. The infeed conveyor 116 mayinclude baffles 118 or cleats for assisting in lifting the objects fromthe hopper 114 onto the primary conveyor 120. A primary perceptionsystem may include one or more perception units 122, 124, 126 thatsurvey objects on the conveyor 120, in part, to identify certain objectsfor returning to the infeed hopper 114 so as to provide a singulatedstream of objects. In particular, the system includes one or morediverters 128, 130 that may be selectively engaged to divert certainobjects return chutes 132, 134 for returning to the infeed hopper 114. Aportion therefore, of the input stream is selectively adjusted by thediverters 128, 130 to provide a singulated stream of objects (as may bedetected and confirmed by a perception unit 126).

The singulated stream of objects is delivered to a drop perception unit136 (as discussed below) as a singulated stream and without requiringthat a robotic system place objects into the drop perception unit. Byproviding a singulated stream of objects for processing, the system isable to more effectively control the object processing rate, andreducing the incidence of errors that may occur, for example of twoobjects in close contact with each other are perceived as being oneobject. The infeed conveyor 116 may also be in communication with acontroller 138, and speed of the infeed conveyor 116 as well as thespeed (and even direction) of the primary conveyor 120 may be adjustedto either slow down if moving too fast, or speed up if system determinesthat more bandwidth exists for a faster input.

Objects then drop through the drop perception unit 136 and fall onto asecondary conveyor 40, and one or more diverters 142, 144 may beemployed to divert each object in a desired direction. If an object onthe conveyor 140 is not diverted, then the object will fall into anunsorted collection bin 46. When the diverter 142 is engaged to divertan object off of the conveyor 140, the object falls to a carriage 48that reciprocally runs along a track 150. The contained object in thecarriage 48 may then be selectively dumped onto one of a plurality ofchutes 152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162 toward a respective drop container164, 166, 168, 170, 172, 174, which each include a bomb-bay style bottomdrop floor as will be discussed in more detail below. When the diverter144 is engaged to divert an object off of the conveyor 140, the objectfalls to a carriage 176 that reciprocally runs along a track 178. Thecontained object in the carriage 176 may then be selectively dumped ontoone of a plurality of chutes 180, 182, 184, 186, 188, 190, 192, 194toward a respective drop container 196, 198, 200, 202, 204, 206, 208,210, which each include a bomb-bay style bottom drop floor.

When any of the drop containers 164, 166, 168 is full or otherwisecomplete and ready for further processing, the bottom of the readycontainer is dropped onto a conveyor 212 where the contents are movedtoward a destination bin 214. Prior to reaching the destination bin 214however, the contents are passed through an automatic bagging andlabeling device 216 as will be discussed below in more detail. When anyof the drop containers 170, 172, 174 is full or otherwise complete andready for further processing, the bottom of the ready container isdropped onto a conveyor 218 where the contents are moved through anautomatic bagging and labeling device 220 toward a destination bin 222.Further, when any of the drop containers 196, 198, 200, 202, 204, 206,208, 210 is full or otherwise complete and ready for further processing,the contents of the ready container is dropped onto a conveyor 224 wherethe contents are moved through an automatic bagging and labeling device226 toward a destination bin 228. The destination bin 114 may beaccessed through doors 230 in the trailer, and the destination bins 220(as well as the unsorted collection bin 146) may be accessed throughdoors 232 in the trailer. The destination bin 228 (as well as the inputhopper 114 and the controller 138) may be accessed through doors 234 atthe rear of the trailer.

FIGS. 20 and 21 show a system 250 in accordance with another embodimentof the present invention. In particular, FIG. 20 shows a side view ofthe system 250 within a trailer 252 (with a wall of the trailer removedfor clarity), and FIG. 21 shows a top view of the system 250 (with thetop of the trailer removed for clarity). The system 250 includes aninfeed hopper 254 into which objects may be dumped, e.g., by a dumper orGaylord. An infeed cleated conveyor 256 conveys objects from the infeedhopper 252 to a circular conveyor 258. The infeed conveyor 256 mayinclude baffles 258 or cleats for assisting in lifting the objects fromthe hopper 254 onto the circular conveyor 260. A primary perceptionsystem may include one or more perception units 262, 264 that surveyobjects on the conveyor 260, in part, to identify certain objects forselection for inclusion in a singulated stream of objects that isprovided directly to the drop perception unit 136. Object 2 remain onthe conveyor 260 until they are selected for being grasped by an endeffector 266 of a robotic system 268, and moved by the robotic system tobe dropped into the drop perception unit 136.

Again, a singulated stream of objects are delivered to the dropperception unit 136 (as discussed below), and by providing a singulatedstream of objects for processing, the system is able to more effectivelycontrol the object processing rate, and reducing the incidence of errorsthat may occur, for example of two objects in close contact with eachother are perceived as being one object. The infeed conveyor 256 mayalso be in communication with a controller 138, and speed of the infeedconveyor 256 as well as the speed (and even direction) of the circularconveyor 260 may be adjusted to either slow down if moving too fast, orspeed up if system determines that more bandwidth exists for a fasterinput. The remaining portions of the system 250 having referencenumerals from FIGS. 18 and 19, are the same as the portions of thesystem 110 of FIGS. 18 and 19. Briefly, objects are identified byperception unit 136, and then routed to one of carriages 148, 176, thento any of drop containers 164, 166, 168, 170, 172, 174, 196, 198, 200,202, 204, 206, 208, 210, ultimately bagged and labeled (e.g., when eachcontainer is full) and provided to one of the destination bins 214, 222,228.

Portions of the systems 110 and 250 are described below in more detail.The perception unit 136 (which may be mounted to a side wall of thetrailer, may be supported by stands or may be suspended from above)includes a structure 270 having a top opening 272 and a bottom opening274, and the walls may be covered by an enclosing material 276 as shownin FIGS. 22 and 23, e.g., a colored covering such as orange plastic, toprotect humans from potentially dangerously bright lights within thedrop scanner. The structure 270 includes a plurality of rows of sources(e.g., illumination sources such as LEDs) 278 as well as a plurality ofimage perception units (e.g., cameras) 280. The sources 278 are providedin rows, and each is directed toward the center of the opening. Theperception units 280 are also generally directed toward the opening,although some cameras are directed horizontally, while others aredirected upward, and some are directed downward. The system alsoincludes an entry source (e.g., infrared source) 282 as well as an entrydetector (e.g., infrared detector) 284 for detecting when an object hasentered the perception unit 136. The LEDs and cameras therefore encirclethe inside of the structure 270, and the cameras are positioned to viewthe interior via windows that may include a glass or plastic covering(e.g., 286).

An important aspect of systems of certain embodiments of the presentinvention, is the ability to identify via barcode or other visualmarkings (e.g., as shown at 305 in FIG. 24B) of objects, unique indiciaassociated with the object by employing a perception system into whichobjects may be dropped. Automated scanning systems would be unable tosee barcodes on objects that are presented in a way that their barcodesare not exposed or visible. The perception system may be used in certainembodiments, with a robotic system that may include a robotic armequipped with sensors and computing, that when combined is assumedherein to exhibit the following capabilities: (a) it is able to pickobjects up from a specified class of objects, and separate them from astream of heterogeneous objects, whether they are jumbled in a bin, orare singulated on a motorized or gravity conveyor system; (b) it is ableto move the object to arbitrary places within its workspace; (c) it isable to place objects in an outgoing bin or shelf location in itsworkspace; and, (d) it is able to generate a map of objects that it isable to pick, represented as a candidate set of grasp points in theworkcell, and as a list of polytopes enclosing the object in space.

The allowable objects are determined by the capabilities of the roboticsystem. Their size, weight and geometry are assumed to be such that therobotic system is able to pick, move and place them. These may be anykind of ordered goods, packages, parcels, or other articles that benefitfrom automated sorting. Each object is associated with uniqueidentifying indicia (e.g., a barcode or a universal product code (UPC)),that identifies unique indicia associated with the object, or isassociated with a unique location (e.g., a mailing address).

The manner in which inbound objects arrive may be for example, in one oftwo configurations: (a) inbound objects arrive piled in bins ofheterogeneous objects; or (b) inbound articles arrive by a movingconveyor. The collection of objects includes some that have exposed barcodes and other objects that do not have exposed bar codes. The roboticsystem is assumed to be able to pick items from the bin or conveyor. Thestream of inbound objects is the sequence of objects as they areunloaded either from the bin or the conveyor.

The manner in which outbound objects are organized is such that objectsare placed in a bin, shelf location or container, into which all objectscorresponding to a given order are consolidated. These outbounddestinations may be arranged in vertical arrays, horizontal arrays,grids, or some other regular or irregular manner, but which arrangementis known to the system. The robotic pick and place system is assumed tobe able to place objects into all of the outbound destinations, and thecorrect outbound destination is determined from the UPC of the object.

It is assumed that the objects are marked in one or more places on theirexterior with a visually distinctive mark such as a barcode orradio-frequency identification (RFID) tag so that they may be identifiedwith a scanner. The type of marking depends on the type of scanningsystem used, but may include 1D or 2D barcode symbologies. Multiplesymbologies or labeling approaches may be employed. The types ofscanners employed are assumed to be compatible with the markingapproach. The marking, either by barcode, RFID tag, or other means,encodes a symbol string, which is typically a string of letters andnumbers. The symbol string uniquely associates the object, for example,with a set of processing instructions or a destination location.

The operations of the systems described herein are coordinated by thecentral control system 138 as shown in FIGS. 19 and 21. This systemdetermines from symbol strings the unique indicia associated with anobject, as well as the outbound destination for the object. The centralcontrol system is comprised of one or more workstations or centralprocessing units (CPUs). The correspondence between unique indicia ormailing labels, and outbound destinations is maintained by the centralcontrol system in a database called a manifest. The central controlsystem maintains the manifest by communicating with a warehousemanagement system (WMS).

During operation, the broad flow of work may be generally as follows.First, the system is equipped with a manifest that provides the outbounddestination for each inbound object. Next, the system waits for inboundobjects to arrive either in a bin or on a conveyor. The robotic systemmay pick one item at a time from the input bin, and may drop each iteminto the perception system discussed above. If the perception systemsuccessfully recognizes a marking on the object, then the object is thenidentified and forwarded to a sorting station or other processingstation. If the object is not identified, the robotic system may eitherreplace the object back onto the input conveyor and try again, or theconveyor may divert the object to a human sortation bin to be reviewedby a human.

The sequence of locations and orientations of the perception units 136are chosen so as to minimize the average or maximum amount of time thatscanning takes. Again, if the object cannot be identified, the objectmay be transferred to a special outbound destination for unidentifiedobjects, or it may be returned to the inbound stream. This entireprocedure operates in a loop until all of the objects in the inbound setare depleted. The objects in the inbound stream are automaticallyidentified, sorted, and routed to outbound destinations.

In accordance with an embodiment therefore, the invention provides asystem for sorting objects that arrive inbound bins and that need to beplaced into a shelf of outbound bins, where sorting is to be based on aunique identifier symbol. Key specializations in this embodiment are thespecific design of the perception system so as to maximize theprobability of a successful scan, while simultaneously minimizing theaverage scan time. The probability of a successful scan and the averagescan time make up key performance characteristics. These key performancecharacteristics are determined by the configuration and properties ofthe perception system, as well as the object set and how they aremarked.

The two key performance characteristics may be optimized for a givenitem set and method of barcode labeling. Parameters of the optimizationfor a barcode system include how many barcode scanners, where and inwhat orientation to place them, and what sensor resolutions and fieldsof view for the scanners to use. Optimization can be done through trialand error, or by simulation with models of the object.

Optimization through simulation employs a barcode scanner performancemodel. A barcode scanner performance model is the range of positions,orientations and barcode element size that a barcode symbol can bedetected and decoded by the barcode scanner, where the barcode elementsize is the size of the smallest feature on the barcode. These aretypically rated at a minimum and maximum range, a maximum skew angle, amaximum pitch angle, and a minimum and maximum tilt angle.

Typical performance for camera-based barcode scanners are that they areable to detect barcode symbols within some range of distances as long asboth pitch and skew of the plane of the symbol are within the range ofplus or minus 45 degrees, while the tilt of the symbol can be arbitrary(between 0 and 360 degrees). The barcode scanner performance modelpredicts whether a given barcode symbol in a given position andorientation will be detected.

The barcode scanner performance model is coupled with a model of wherebarcodes would expect to be positioned and oriented. A barcode symbolpose model is the range of all positions and orientations, in otherwords poses, in which a barcode symbol will expect to be found. For thescanner, the barcode symbol pose model is itself a combination of anarticle gripping model, which predicts how objects will be held by therobotic system, as well as a barcode-item appearance model, whichdescribes the possible placements of the barcode symbol on the object.For the scanner, the barcode symbol pose model is itself a combinationof the barcode-item appearance model, as well as an inbound-object posemodel, which models the distribution of poses over which inboundarticles are presented to the scanner. These models may be constructedempirically, modeled using an analytical model, or approximate modelsmay be employed using simple sphere models for objects and a uniformdistributions over the sphere as a barcode-item appearance model.

As further shown with reference to FIGS. 24A and 24B, each shuttlesection (e.g., carriage 148 on track 150 and carriage 176 on track 178)includes a carriage (labelled 300 in FIGS. 24A and 24B) that shuttlesback and forth among destination chutes 302 on track 304 (e.g., tracks150, 178). The carriage 300 travels along the track 304 and carriesobjects to a desired destination chute, and tilts, dropping a containedobject 306 into the desired destination chute (as shown in FIG. 24B).The chutes (e.g., chutes 152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 180, 182, 184,186, 188, 190, 192, 194 of FIGS. 18-21) lead to drop containers (e.g.,drop containers 164, 166, 168, 170, 172, 174, 180, 182, 184, 186, 188,190, 192, 194 of FIGS. 18-21). The central computing and control station138 (shown in FIGS. 19 and 21) communicates with other computersdistributed in the other components, and also communicates with thecustomer information system, provides a user interface, and coordinatesall processes.

With reference to FIGS. 25A and 25B, the drop containers of the systemsof FIGS. 18-21 may operate as follows. After a carriage (e.g., 148, 176,300) on a track 310 (e.g., track 150, 178) drops an object into a chute312 (e.g., chutes 152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 180, 182, 184, 186, 188,190, 192, 194), the object 316 lands in a drop container (e.g., dropcontainers 164, 166, 168, 170, 172, 174, 196, 198, 200, 202, 204, 206,208, 210, 314). When the system determines that the drop container needsto be emptied, doors 320 on the bottom of the drop container 314 open,and the contents (e.g., object 316), fall to a conveyor 318 (e.g.,conveyor 212, 218, 224), on which the contents travel toward destinationbin (e.g., 214, 222, 228).

FIGS. 26A-26D show the operation of the automated bagging and labelingsystems 216, 220, 226 of FIGS. 18-21). In particular, a conveyor 352(e.g., conveyor 212, 218, 224) objects 350 (that came from a singledestination bin) toward a destination bin 354 into which bagged andlabelled objects are collected (e.g., bag 356 of objects bearing a label358). Before dropping into the destination bin 354, the objects 350 passthrough a bagging and labelling station 360 (e.g., bagging and labellingsystems 216, 222, 226 of FIGS. 18-21). As the objects 350 pass through(FIG. 26B), they encounter a plastic sheet 364, which forms a bag aroundthe objects with the assistance of an automated seal and labeling unit362, which moves down toward the objects as they pass through thestation 360. With reference to FIG. 26C, as the objects pass through thestation 360, the ends of the plastic sheet 364 are brought together andsealed by the automated seal and labeling unit 362, which presses on thecollected ends of the now formed bag, and prints and attaches a label366 on the bag 362 of objects 350. The labelled and bagged group ofobjects 350 are then dropped into the destination bin 354 as shown inFIG. 26D, and the automated seal and labeling unit 362 returns to thestarting position. The labelled bags of objects may be periodicallyremoved from the truck for further processing.

As shown in FIG. 27, a sortation process of the invention at a sortingstation may begin (step 400) by having a robotic system select, andgrasp a new object from the input buffer (step 402) and then identifythe new object (step 404). In certain embodiments, the system may firstidentify a new object and then select and grasp the identified object.The system then will determine whether the object is yet assigned to anycollection bin (step 406). If not, the system will determine whether anext bin is available (step 408). If no next bin is available and thesystem decides to retry the object later (step 410), the robotic systemwill return the object to the input buffer (step 412) and return to step402. If the system elects to not retry (step 410), the object is placedin a manual sorting area (step 414). Alternatively, the system can pickone of the collection bins that is in process and decide that it can beemptied to be reused for the object in hand, at which point the controlsystem can empty the collection bin or signal a human worker to do it.

If a next bin is available (and the system may permit any number of binsper station), the system will then assign the object to a next bin (step416). The system then places the object into the assigned bin (step418), and updates the number of objects in the bin (step 420). Thesystem them determines whether the bin is full (step 422) and if not,determines whether the bin is unlikely to receive a further object inthe near future (step 424). If the answer to either is yes, the systemindicates that the bin is ready for further processing (step 426).Otherwise, the system then returns to step 402 until finished.

A process of the overall control system is shown, for example, in FIG.28. The overall control system may begin (step 500) by permitting a newcollection bin at each station to be assigned to a group of objectsbased on overall system parameters (step 502) as discussed in moredetail below. The system then identifies assigned bins correlated withobjects at each station (step 504), and updates the number of objects ateach bin at each station (step 506). The system then determines thatwhen a bin is either full or the system expects that the associatedsorting station is unlikely to see another object associated with thebin, the associated sorting station robotic system will then place thecompleted bin onto an output conveyor, or signal a human worker to comeand empty the bin (step 508), and then return to step 502.

Systems of various embodiments provide numerous advantages because ofthe inherent dynamic flexibility. The flexible correspondence betweensorter outputs and destinations provides that there may be fewer sorteroutputs than destinations, so the entire system may require less space.The flexible correspondence between sorter outputs and destinations alsoprovides that the system may choose the most efficient order in which tohandle objects, in a way that varies with the particular mix of objectsand downstream demand. The system is also easily scalable, by addingsorters, and more robust since the failure of a single sorter might behandled dynamically without even stopping the system. It should bepossible for sorters to exercise discretion in the order of objects,favoring objects that need to be handled quickly, or favoring objectsfor which the given sorter may have a specialized gripper.

While the assignment of objects to destinations is fixed (e.g., eachobject has an identifier such as a label or barcode that is associatedwith an assigned destination), systems of certain embodiments may employcarriages or other containers that are not each fixed to assigneddestinations, but rather may be dynamically assigned during operation.In other words, the system assigns carriages or containers to certaindestination stations responsive to a wide variety of inputs, such asvolume of objects being moved to a single destination, the frequency ofsortation of the type of object, or even assigning the next availablecarriage or container to a destination associated with an acquiredobject.

The system provides in a specific embodiment an input system thatinterfaces to the customer's conveyors and containers, stores parcelsfor feeding into the system, and feeds those parcels into the system ata moderate and controllable rate. In one embodiment, the interface tothe customer's process takes the form of a Gaylord dumper, but manyother embodiments are possible. In one embodiment, feeding into thesystem is by an inclined cleated conveyor with overhead baffles. A keyto the efficient operation of the system is to feed parcels in at amodest controlled rate. Many options are available, including variationsin the conveyor slope and speed, the presence, size and structure ofcleats and baffles, and the use of sensors to monitor and control thefeed rate. Systems of the invention may incorporate software systemsthat interface with the distribution center's databases and otherinformation systems, to provide operational information to thecustomer's system and to query the distribution center's system forparcel information. In each of the above embodiments, the systems may bepowered by battery or wired AC, or may be electrically powered by atractor trailer itself.

The systems in various embodiments, therefore, provide that an objectengagement system indiscriminately engages objects as it moves through atrailer, and passes the objects on to an object conveyance system suchthat they may be conveyed to an object processing station.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications andvariations may be made to the above disclosed embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is: 1-23. (canceled)
 24. A non-ordered method ofengaging objects in a trailer of a tractor trailer, comprising: movingan engagement structure into the trailer, the engaging structureincluding a substantially planar engagement surface that extendssubstantially along a width of the insider of the trailer; engagingunidentified objects with the substantially planar engagement surface ofthe engagement structure, said objects being engaged indiscriminatelysuch that no order of engagement of the objects is selected; andconveying the objects in an indiscriminate sequence out of the trailer.25. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the engaging structureincludes at least one perception unit providing perception data.
 26. Themethod as claimed in claim 25, where the perception data is not used tofacilitate engagement of the objects by the engaging surface of theengaging structure.
 27. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein themethod further includes transporting the objects from the trailer to adistribution location.
 28. The method as claimed in claim 27, whereinthe distribution location includes an object processing system withinanother tractor trailer.
 29. The method as claimed in claim 27, whereinthe method further includes singulating the indiscriminate sequence ofobjects.
 30. The method as claimed in claim 29, wherein the methodfurther includes dropping singulated objects through a drop scanner, thedrop scanner providing object perception data regarding each object asit falls through the drop scanner.
 31. The method as claimed in claim30, wherein the method further includes routing each object in any of aplurality of routing paths responsive to object perception dataassociated with each object.
 32. The method as claimed in claim 31,wherein the method further includes presenting processed objects at anyof a plurality of access locations in a trailer of a further tractortrailer.
 33. A non-ordered method of engaging objects in a trailer of atractor trailer, comprising: moving an engagement structure into thetrailer, the engaging structure including an engagement surface thatextends substantially along a width of the insider of the trailer;perceiving perception data regarding the objects in the trailer;engaging unidentified objects with the engagement surface of theengagement structure, said objects being engaged indiscriminately andnot using the perception data such that no order of engagement of theobjects is selected; and conveying the objects in an indiscriminatesequence out of the trailer.
 34. The method as claimed in claim 33,wherein the engaging structure includes a plurality of perception units,each of which provides perception data, and wherein none of theperception data is used to facilitate engagement of the objects by theengaging surface of the engaging structure.
 35. The method as claimed inclaim 33, wherein the engagement surface is substantially planar. 36.The method as claimed in claim 33, wherein the method further includestransporting the objects from the trailer to a distribution location.37. The method as claimed in claim 36, wherein the distribution locationincludes an object processing system within another tractor trailer. 38.The method as claimed in claim 36, wherein the method further includessingulating the indiscriminate sequence of objects.
 39. The method asclaimed in claim 38, wherein the method further includes droppingsingulated objects through a drop scanner, the drop scanner providingobject perception data regarding each object as it falls through thedrop scanner.
 40. The method as claimed in claim 39, wherein the methodfurther includes routing each object in any of a plurality of routingpaths responsive to object perception data associated with each object.41. The method as claimed in claim 40, wherein the method furtherincludes presenting processed objects at any of a plurality of accesslocations in a trailer of a further tractor trailer.
 42. A method ofprocessing non-ordered objects in a trailer of a tractor trailer,comprising: moving an engagement structure into the trailer, theengaging structure including an engagement surface that extendssubstantially along a width of the insider of the trailer; engagingunidentified objects with the engagement surface of the engagementstructure, said objects being engaged indiscriminately such that noorder of engagement of the objects is selected; conveying the objects inan indiscriminate sequence out of the trailer; and transporting theobjects from the trailer to a distribution location within anothertractor trailer.
 43. The method as claimed in claim 42, wherein theengaging structure includes at least one perception unit providingperception data.
 44. The method as claimed in claim 43, where theperception data is not used to facilitate engagement of the objects bythe engaging surface of the engaging structure.
 45. The method asclaimed in claim 42, wherein the engagement surface is substantiallyplanar.
 46. The method as claimed in claim 42, wherein the methodfurther includes singulating the indiscriminate sequence of objects. 47.The method as claimed in claim 46, wherein the method further includesdropping singulated objects through a drop scanner, the drop scannerproviding object perception data regarding each object as it fallsthrough the drop scanner.
 48. The method as claimed in claim 47, whereinthe method further includes routing each object in any of a plurality ofrouting paths responsive to object perception data associated with eachobject.
 49. The method as claimed in claim 48, wherein the methodfurther includes presenting processed objects at any of a plurality ofaccess locations in a trailer of the further tractor trailer.
 50. Themethod as claimed in claim 49, wherein the presenting processed objectsat any of the plurality of access locations in the trailer of thefurther tractor trailer includes presenting processed objects that havebeen automatically bagged.